We are alive – I promise! Beyond the art, we are just your average human beings. We have jobs. We have an 8-year-old boy to give our attention to. We have two furry boys who need love and care. We have a family. Brian also has a second job. He is a jack-of-all-trades sort of guy. He does not sit down. Only usually to eat – or paint. Unless he is in a tractor… but that is work that takes away from his painting… We are always on the go, or so it seems. And to be quite honest, most days our lives are just busy with “work” and “life” and nothing truly exciting to tell the world! (And I can only be the doting wife so often without becoming annoying…)
Brian is currently working on several paintings at once. Most importantly, his entry for the Federal Duck Stamp. I am so incredibly excited for this painting and the direction that it is heading. Once he begins, there is very little room for error and I am loving the way the gears are spinning this time around. (Oh how I wish I could show you all the progress!)
As of today, there are exactly 35 days for him to complete his painting and send it off.
He has yet to become frustrated. So that only tells me that it is coming soon. There comes a point in every contest painting he does where, “something just isn’t quite right” – and the whole process halts. Usually not for long. Sometimes minutes, sometimes hours, once in a while just a few days… That hasn’t happened yet… It could be that he has and is growing so much as an artist that it won’t occur. I’ll believe those words until I see it.
His vision of the natural world amazes me each and every day. He submerges himself into great depths to always learn more. To be inspired. To do and be better. He always manages to find this “light” that I believe was put in this world simply for his own viewing and no one else’s.
Why the ducks… Seems to be a common question I get often. “Why does he only paint ducks?” – He doesn’t. He paints so much more. But his passion lies in nature. He has this concept, this idea, that it is his calling – his job – to paint the world as we know it. Because someday, these things won’t exist anymore. He is history in the making. Mark my word.
“There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot. Like winds and sunset, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them.” -Aldo Leopold
He makes fun of me and my passion for his work. “You didn’t know anything about ducks or what the Duck Stamp was until you met me!” – He is correct. I didn’t. But now I do – and I cannot imagine any other knowledge I would like to possess. So what’s the deal with the ducks… The Duck Stamp is much more than a painting, a stamp… more than meets the eye.
Food for thought…
“Ninety-eight cents of every duck stamp dollar goes directly into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to purchase or lease (5.2MB) wetlands and wildlife habitat for inclusion in the National Wildlife Refuge System. This ensures there will be land for wildlife and humans that will be protected for generations to come. Since 1934, some $800 million dollars has gone into that fund to protect more than 5.7 million acres (102.5KB) of habitat. Little wonder the Federal Duck Stamp Program has been called one of the most successful conservation programs ever initiated. One of the reasons for the Duck Stamp’s success is that anyone can buy the stamp, which can also be used as an annual “pass” to national wildlife refuges charging entrance fees. ” (https://www.fws.gov/birds/get-involved/duck-stamp/history-of-the-federal-duck-stamp.php)
Feel free to do your own research to learn more! I promise – it is a magnificent and fascinating world, this “Duck Stamp thing” we do. Until next time!
Brian Murillo 